On a ferry traveling from Osaka to Shanghai, I read a book about the Islamic world that I would likely encounter.

This book mainly describes the fundamental principles of Islam. As mentioned in the book, in reality, many aspects of Islam often do not align with its fundamental principles. However, knowing these principles should help in understanding the reality.

The following is a summary of notes.

Islam
Life and Death and Holy War
Tanaka, Kō

■Islam is the set of rules (Sharia) determined by God.
Sharia is the standard of good and evil for Islam, and it includes the following two main components:

・Quran
A collection of revelations received by Muhammad, compiled by his direct disciples. It was compiled by Muhammad's disciples shortly after his death.

・Hadith
A collection of Muhammad's words and actions, compiled individually by his disciples. There are many of them. They are often recorded in a format where the names of the narrators are listed, so multiple records may exist for the same statement.■Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh)
This is the name of the field of study related to Islam.

■Islamic Law (Ahkam al-Fiqhiyyah)
This is a system of regulations compiled by Islamic scholars because the Sharia is difficult to interpret.
It divides norms into five categories:
- Obligatory acts
- Recommended acts
- Permissible (neutral) acts
- Discouraged (abstain from) acts
- Prohibited acts

■Concept of God
This concept of "God" is different from the Japanese concept of "God."
God (Allah) is the "principle of things" and is the only one. Therefore, it is a monotheistic religion.
While there is a concept similar to animism (the idea that spirits reside in all things), it is not polytheism (the concept that there are multiple principles of things).

■Concept of Spirit
There is a concept of spirit. In Arabic, it is called "ruh."
Worshipping the spirit (ruh) is prohibited in Islam.
This is a concept of animism where spirits (ruh) reside not only in living beings but also in all of nature.

Nature has a spirit (ruh), but it does not have free will.
Humans have a spirit (ruh) and also have free will.

There are beings with free will within the spirit (ruh), and they are called "jinn."
The spirits in the lamp in the Arabian Nights are a good example.

■Creation of the World
This is the idea that the Creator (Allah) created the world by commanding, "Let there be."
This is similar to the Christian concept.

■Final Judgment
After the world ends and the universe is destroyed, the final judgment will come.
In the final war, the forces of good, led by Jesus (Isa) and the Mahdi (Messiah), will win, but this peace will not last long, and the world will be destroyed by natural disasters.

■Concept of Death
This is the separation of the soul from the body.
There is a judgment in the grave, where the deceased is questioned about their actions in life.
Afterward, the soul "sleeps" and eventually awakens at the time of the final judgment.
The eternal afterlife that comes after the final judgment is the Islamic "heaven."
There is no concept of reincarnation like in Buddhism.

Because the soul remains in the body until the final judgment, the body must not be damaged. Therefore, burial is practiced.
Organ transplantation is generally opposed.

The body is bathed and wrapped in a white cloth.

■Treatment of Martyrs
Martyrs go directly to heaven after the final judgment, without waiting.
The body is not bathed or wrapped in a white cloth, but is buried in the clothes they died in.
People who died in bombing attacks in conflict zones are also considered martyrs and are buried in the clothes they died in.
Jihad is considered the highest concept.

■Conditions for Jihad
The purpose of the fighting must be for the sake of Islam.
The opponent must be an infidel.
The fighting must be for self-defense or at the command of the Caliph (Islamic leader).

■Prohibited Acts in Islam
Killing enemies.
Involving civilians.

■Concept of Freedom
Humans have freedom, but its goodness or badness is determined by the Sharia (God's commandments).

■Separation of Religion and State does not exist in Islam
The scope of the Sharia (God's commandments) extends to politics.

■Prophet
This is a person who is called by God and entrusted with God's law.
They do not create their own doctrines.
Muhammad is the "last" prophet in the Islamic world.
Prophets have the characteristic of "not making mistakes."
They perform miracles (mu'jizat) to demonstrate that they have been given a special mission, which are special miracles that cannot be denied.

■God (Allah)
This is the same God who gave the Ten Commandments to Moses in Judaism.
This is the same God who taught Jesus in Christianity.

■Saint (Wali)
This means a person who is close to God.
They may sometimes receive revelations from God, but they can make mistakes.
Saints may perform miracles (karamat), but they are different from the miracles of prophets.

■Caliph (Islamic Leader)
This is the representative (Khalifa) of the Prophet.
They do not create new laws but adhere to the Sharia (God's commandments).

■Islamic State
Islam is originally not related to the concept of a state.

■Caliphate
Under an ideal caliphate system, people can move freely beyond national borders.
In a caliphate, there are no national laws. Only the Sharia (God's commandments) exists.
The role of the Caliph (Islamic leader) is to resolve issues that are not covered in the Sharia (God's commandments).
In Islam, the Sharia (God's commandments) is stronger than the Caliph (Islamic leader), so in principle, there will be no dictators.

■Polytheism
Polytheism is bad because it considers things that are not God to be God.

■Idolatry
Idolatry is bad. Even worshipping a country is a form of idolatry.

■Islamic State
The attempt by the Islamic State to become a "state" is considered incorrect from the principles of Islam.
The legitimacy of the appointed Caliph (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi) is questionable.
The lack of tolerance is fatal.
It often goes against the principles of Islam.
However, it may be a stepping stone to the restoration of the caliphate, some believe.

----------------
As I read on, I felt that a vague picture of the overall Islamic world was beginning to emerge.

Still, it is surprising that the concept of reincarnation does not exist.

Overall, it feels quite different from Japanese religions, but I think this level of knowledge is sufficient as basic information for traveling.